Dichotomous thinking and the authoritarian personality

Dichotomous thinking defines those people who construct their reality based on categories. For them everything is black or white, good or bad, you are either on their side or against them. This tendency to evaluate what surrounds them based on such extreme or polarized concepts very often defines a clearly authoritarian profile that is very difficult to live with.

Absolute terms are not as abundant as we think in our social universe. This is something we must understand first. That is to say, experience always ends up showing us that absolute happiness, for example, is not possible. Also that human beings are never completely good nor totally evil. Our reality is changing, complex, full of nuances, and being able to accept all that variability is key to well-being and intelligence.

However, there are those who insist that everything around them conform to a rigid and stable scheme, to a pattern that is as simple as possible so that everything remains under control. What’s more, as an old Serbian proverb says in mockery, There are two types of people in this world, those who believe that there are two types of people and those who do not.. Beyond the irony (and correctness) of this idea, there lies a quite serious aspect.

This dichotomous approach is the origin of many prejudices, of those biases that build the most harmful stereotypes. This is something that psychologists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer already told us about in their day. Now, there is a fact that is worth reflecting on: dichotomous thinking is combated by encouraging critical and flexible thinking. Something that, sadly, is not always applied in schools or taught at home.

Dichotomous thinking and the primitive mind

Dichotomous or black and white thinking is harmful and should be obsolete. It is the remnant of a past where invented and clearly biased dichotomies abounded excessively (some races superior to others, one gender stronger than another, etc.). Now, something that the field of social psychology points out to us is that this type of cognitive approach occurs much more than we think.

It may surprise some, but in a way, Thinking in absolute terms is much easier. The reason? It requires no effort and this means that many people apply this thinking scheme without realizing it. They do this when they see things in terms of good or bad, right or wrong, without appreciating the intermediate nuances, those that, often, with a little more care and empathy, allow us to see a broader and richer reality.

It should be noted that psychologists such as Aaron T. Beck defined this type of reasoning as ‘primitive and immature thinking’ in the 60s.. Thus, according to the father of cognitive therapy, who thinks in absolute terms and applies this type of bias, is characterized by making use of a type of very rigid mental processes. They are the following:

They only look at the global aspects of reality. They are not able to analyze and conceptualize certain information in scales, degrees or dimensions.His thought is, furthermore, invariable and irreversible.

Dichotomous thinking and authoritarianism

Aaron T. Beck also indicated at the time that This type of mental approach is not, by itself, indicative of no mental disorder. Now, sometimes, other symptoms are added to dichotomous thinking to give shape to clinical conditions such as borderline personality disorder.

On the other hand, where it is usually present is in authoritarian behavior. Today we even have a scale to measure dichotomous thinking, and it is through studies such as the one carried out by Dr. Atkushi Oshio, from the University of Tokyo, where we discovered the intimate relationship between authoritarianism and ‘ thinking in black and white’.

According to this work, Dichotomous thinking is common in narcissistic people and people with low self-esteemwho also present authoritarian behavior.They are people who do not tolerate ambiguitywho need to have everything under control and who tend to devalue anyone who thinks opposite to them.Likewise, Another factor that usually appears in this type of personality is perfectionism..

The need to train our cognitive flexibility

To reverse dichotomous thinking, we must promote cognitive flexibility from a very early age. This executive function would allow us, among other things, to have a greater ability to solve problems. After all, something that the rigid and authoritarian personality does not accept is contradiction. However, if there is something that abounds in our daily reality, it is complexity and variability.

Therefore, being able to assume this wealth of stimuli and categories from a more open, respectful and flexible point of view would enrich us much more as human beings. Taking other points of view into account is synonymous with empathy and intelligence. Furthermore, flexible thinking, as opposed to dichotomous and rigid thinking, shapes a lifestyle where we adapt much better to the complexities of our environment.

We will feel less frustration, we will be more creative, tolerant and prepared to analyze, value and connect much better with everything around us. Let us therefore try to apply this approach in our daily lives and combat those authoritarian views determined to create a world tailored to them.

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